In honor of Father’s Day I was hoping to kick off an online collection of blogger’s/reader’s fathers. Trackback to this post so we can have a collection.

Unlike the average American I have two fathers. No, they are not life partners but I am a product of divorced parents. My birth father Boaz Kagan came to America when he was 19 because he was not eligible to join the Israeli army due to heart conditions. On a side note this really hot girl dumped him since he couldn’t join. Anyways, he came to Atherton, CA with no English to live with my great aunt. Another fun side note, Michael Arrington of Techcrunch rents her house today. Speaking no English he hardly passed class at Menlo-Atherton highschool. He enjoyed tennis, American women and partying too much.

After graduation he started working as a carpet installer. He didn’t enjoy that so he worked at a Xerox dealer selling copiers and repairing. My father is very good with people and working his ass off. He excelled very well, became the top salesman and eventually started his own business: Kinko’s. Okay I wish, he started Kagan Business Machines. In the mid-80s he was hugely successful with outworking the competition and a relatively young copier market (little saturation). My father had some personal problems that he is still facing today and the business didn’t do so well in the long term. He recently closed shop last year and is now looking for work in Modesto, CA. Anyone hiring? I have learned a lot of things from Bo about working very hard, thinking quickly and dealing with people.

My other father Norm Burke was married to my mom in 1990 and became my new stepdad. He is amazing and because of him I am where I am today. Unemployed and working out of a Starbucks in Los Angeles. Okay, just kidding. I went to college, two majors, two cool companies I worked at and good values. Norm is an engineer who works with processors and other secret stuff at a company in the Bay Area. He has been an amazing role model and great father while I lived with him most of my life.

Happy Father’s Day!!! Tell me about your dad on your site or in the comment section.

1 reply to “Who's your Daddy?”

In honor of being at my parents this week, I figured I’d comment, even though this is post is over a year old…

My parents divorced when I was 6. While in 2nd grade, a man named Ray, came into the picture. He dated my mom for 8 years, we all lived together in one house for a year (my sophomore year of HS), then married my mom the summer of 1994. He’s more of a father to me than my own biological father, who I make contact with on Father’s Day, but only if he’s called me on my birthday (which is within a few days of Father’s Day each year).

Ray has provided for me as if I was his own daughter and loves me dearly…as I do him. There have been times when I’ve wondered why he’s stuck around, putting up with my mom’s crap, but he has, which truly shows how much he loves her.